Members Spotlight: Mavsfan4life

Let me first preface this by letting you know that I hate having my photo taken or talking about myself, but I will give this a shot. Maybe the soothing sounds of my snoring Bully and my dreaming Shih-Tzu, sleeping under my chair as I type will inspire me???

I am a native Texan, and apart from five years spent in Oregon, I have lived in Texas my entire life. I grew up on a dairy farm and had a variety of pets through my childhood - horses, dogs, cats, a hamster, parakeets, numerous fish, a goat and a sheep (yes, growing up on a farm, a goat or sheep can be a pet when you feed them with baby bottles and they have collars). This long list of pets does not include all of the calves and piglets that, much to my Dad’s chagrin, I pronounced as mine as well! I have always wanted an English Bulldog, but lifestyle didn't allow for one until recently (more about that later).

I have been married to the love of my life for 10 years (we just celebrated our 10th anniversary this past May). He is absolutely the kindest and most considerate man that I have ever had the privilege to know in life and I am the lucky woman that gets to not only call him my husband, but also my Best Friend. We have three daughters. Our oldest is married with a 4 year old son and a second boy on the way. This is pretty significant since, other than my husband and my brother, we have no other males in the family until our daughter married (and since she lives in the Midwest, we do not get to see them very often). My husband had three sisters growing up, we have three daughters and my brother has two daughters. (Now don’t you feel sorry for my dear husband and brother? I am sure that they feel like they are swimming in the “estrogen ocean” at times). Okay, let’s get back on track here……. Our middle daughter will be entering her Junior year in college this coming fall, where she is pursuing a degree in education. Our youngest will be graduating from high school in June (just a few days away now), as the Salutatorian of her class, and will be entering college in the fall, where she has been accepted into the university’s Honors College. (Yes, I am a very proud mom). Our children have always been very active and we spent the majority of our time away from work going to ballgames and attending school events. My family is my life......I even have a tattoo on my foot that says "familia ante ceteros", which translates to Family Above All Else.

As far as hobbies go, I love to read and listen to music. I have been reading as much as possible since I can remember and with the busy life we have led over the last few years, my "reading" has turned to more audio books than the written word. I love, love, love music of many genres and can't imagine a day without any music. Also, as you can probably tell by my username, I am a huge fan of the Dallas Mavericks. We have spent many nights as a family at the AA arena, rooting on our Mavs!

Career wise, I spent many years in the corporate world, traveling an immense amount. After moving to Oregon, I decided to be a stay at home mom for a while to help our two younger daughters with the transition (be the classic "soccer mom"). Well after they were well established with their friends and school, I couldn't stand the boredom, so I became a real estate agent until we decided to move back to Texas. After we had built our new home in Texas and we were "settled" once again, I once again had too much free time on my hands. I love gift giving and have always spent an insane amount of time trying to find unique gifts for every event. I decided to take up a new hobby of creating personalized jewelry. Well, I can never do anything "half way", so I decided to do a few shows to sell some of the creations (there are only so many gifts you can make for everyone in your circle). Well, people started asking if I had a website, I said I don't, but I will.......within a month, I had the site live and within two months, I had more orders than I knew what to do with, so a new business was born. My business has now expanded to include many varieties of personalized gifts, from the personalized family jewelry for moms to engraved marble memorials to personalized wine barrels.

I have had Chewy a.k.a. Chewbarka, my Shih Tzu for about a year and I love him dearly. He has been my constant companion since he became a member of our family. From road trips to working in the studio he has rarely left my side. As I stated earlier, I have always wanted an English Bulldog, but knowing that they are a "higher maintenance" breed, I just hadn't felt that I could dedicate the time deserved before. With all of our girls leaving the nest and having my work studio next to my home, I was finally able to realize the dream and add the newest addition to our family.

Before picking Mayhem up from the breeder, I had a list of possible names that I had thought long and hard about. (I have always been kind of obsessive about the perfect name). Very early, one Saturday morning in May, we began our 5 hour drive to retrieve a cute little, wrinkly butterball. He was just adorable, but none of the names on the list seemed to “fit” him. It took 24 hours in our home, observing this little pudgy ball of energy creating such chaos, before the name Mayhem came to mind. A moniker that finally “fit” my little guy!

Mayhem under a chair.

So now, whether I am working or relaxing after a long day, my two fur-babies are right under my feet (literally) or laying by my side , and I couldn't be happier! I have a wonderful life!

Do you like reading more about the members of English Bulldog News? Make sure you check out the Member Spotlights section from the Home Page!

Hmmm.. I remember seeing and reading this when it first came out ... and was sure I'd posted!!!!

Beautiful pics and love this story!!!

I was thinking the same thing that I had read this before and posted but I must have dreamt it or something . Great story You have a beautiful family we are mostly a girl family too and you do have to feel sorry for the men with all those hormones around. Thanks for sharing I really enjoy reading Members spotlights and getting to know the people behind the names.

Thank you everyone!!! I am so happy that I was fortunate enough to have found EBN...........I have met so many wonderful members, learned a lot of information on the EB breed and am quickly forming friendships with many of you amazing people!